Adolitso: Prologue
by Dorchica
Summary: "A Drop Of Love In The Star Ocean". Faize crashlands on Earth, in 2010. As he tries to forget everything, his new friends teach him how to walk his own path... It does not deviate from the game much! R&R! FaiLym. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Hey there! I'm back, this time, with a **Star Ocean: The Last Hope fanfiction!**

I've just checked my previous works and… let me say, I was 13-14 years old at that time, so I'm not really proud of them, to be honest. I do hope this new one will turn out far better than any of my older works.

If I have any typos, then I am sorry, as English is not my native language ^^ (And also, for a weird reason, either or my Word tends to grab out sentences, words O.o)

ANYWAY, I own NOTHING except my OCs.

As the title says, this is a prologue of the original idea I had in my mind. This will be short, few chapters long and no _mary sue intended __at all_. I just imagined what Faize did in the years he was absent.

Oh and by the way, SPOILER ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Thank you.

**Pairing**: Faize x Lymle; OC x OC

**Rating**: T

**Genre**: Romance, humour, friendship

**Chapter 1.**

He fell, hopelessly falling into the darkness, seemingly into his demise.

The planet's gravitation pulled him towards a black hole mercilessly, thusly ending his life. However, death was not an option in his mind. He will move forward and continue walking on his own path.

_Edge…_ he thought _…thank you…_

With an exhausted breath, and incredible pain, he reached out to the small device attached to his right hand. He soon heard a familiar „zoom" sound, and moments later, he met the concrete physical form of his Sol's floor.

He already had several bruises, wounds from the previous battle, the contact he made with the Sol was nothing compared to his original pain.

The machine halted, as it did not move from it's position without manual help.

He struggled to the pilot seat, just in time to see his friend, Edge also falling towards the black hole.

His purple eyes widened, and with an ungraceful move, he seated himself, and sped off towards Edge's direction.

His friend and captain, just like him, fell into the Sol, landing not so far from him.

The young boy hurriedly set the machine onto autopilot, and ran to Edge, trying to get him awaken.

After several shaking, Edge finally awoke, his green eyes set on his alien friend, now became as wide as saucers.

"F-faize?" Edge stuttered. "H-how…? Did I die?"

Faize smiled tiredly at his friend, "You most certainly are not dead. We're in my Sol right now. Remember how I told you, it could synchronize with my brainwaves and come instantly?"

Edge let out a tired sigh, "Now that you mentioned, it does sound familiar…"

Suddenly, Faize dropped next to Edge tiredly, breathing in ragged breaths.

"I'm tired, Edge." he let out weakly, and looked at his blonde friend, who nodded silently. Then suddenly, unexpectantly, Faize received a soft whack on the head. Bewildred, he set his gaze on Edge and asked in a several high-pitched voice,

"What was that for?" the questioned one let out a weak chuckle,

"For what, you ask… For not telling me you were saving yourself! I thought you were dead for sure!" Faize paled, "I stayed there, not wanting to… let go of you. I blamed myself for not being able to save you, and that I deserve no… survival…" Edge swallowed. Faize waited breathlessly,

"You're like a little brother to me I never had." he confessed and clenched his fists. "I have already lost my parents, then my uncle… I lost so much dear to me and-"

"Edge…" Faize let out softly.

"You know," Edge looked at his green haired friend, "Lymle is right. You really are a dummy, huh?"

A weak smile spread on his lips, "Dummy, huh…?" he whispered. Faize closed his eyes.

"Please, take care of her."

"What?" Edge exclaimed. Faize looked at him sadly,

"I have no intention of returning to your crew, Edge." this time, Edge gave Faize an exasperated look,

"Faize… but why? No one blames you at all! You're our friend! I will not let-"

"Please, Edge." he blinked sorrowfully, his eyes turning into a darker shade of purple, "Don't make this harder as it is."

"Faize…" Edge tried once again. The stars swirled around them, and the Sol trembled, as they exited Nox Obscurus' atmosphere. The rumble was not strong enough to deal damage to the ship, however, it was enough to make the two youngsters roll helplessly to the other side of the machine.

"As I have mentioned earlier, " He rubbed his now aching forehead, due to the contact with the Sol's wall" I will not participate in your further journeys as your crewman. I have betrayed you the moment I left you. Not just you. Everyone." the Eldarian looked at him painfully, now breathing more violently. He was close to his limit. Edge tried to reply to his statement, but the younger boy silenced him with one stare,

"Edge, listen to me. Could you forgive to that power, that killed your parents? What would you do, if the power, that killed your parents or uncle, suddenly turned up as a person, and beg for your friendship?" The blonde boy furrowed his eyebrows,

"Faize, you're not making any sense! You were our friend from the beginning-"

"_In the beginning_, yes!" he exclaimed, "But look at me _now_! I made hunderds of life end, without an ounce of mercy, and made the power that made Lymle's grandfather ill, and later kill him, control me, because of my selfishness!" his eyes were once again, bathed in the color of red, frightening the slightly older boy, "It is because of that power that I obtained, Lymle is without a parent!"

"Faize-" Edge tried painfully, but Faize shook his head violently,

"I do not deserve mercy, nor the tears she shed for me. I gladly took side with that murderous power that made her lonely… No, Edge, there is no way in this galaxy that could persuade me to change my mind." his eyes now returned to their normal, purple color.

Edge looked at him sorrowfully, as he breathed slowly,

"I'm really sorry, Edge. You taught me… so much. That is why I will not give up." he looked at Edge. Though his eyes were tired, Edge indeed saw somekind of light deep inside. "I will turn a new leaf, and restart my life." The captain sighed in defeat,

"And how? Where? Will we hear of you? And Lymle? She really missed you."

The young Eldarian's eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"I said, she missed you."

"I most certainly unable to digest an information such as that."

"You stupid!" Edge let out tiredly and chuckling slightly, "You could have seen it with your own eyes. She cried for you. She never cried when she lost her grandfather, did she?"

"She indeed was unable to cry…" Faize replied thoughtfully.

"… And do you WANT her to cry more?"

"Edge…" Faize pled, "I don't want her to cry, but I also don't want to pain her furthermore. Please, Edge, I need time. I will restart my life and learn from my mistakes. Step by step." Edge hopelessly shook his head,

"I guess you are really hard-headed, huh? Well, I will not tell Lymle about it. It is your job to do so. She'll miss you very much."

The young Eldarian bitterly looked at the ceiling of his Sol,

"She will get over it. I am sure of it." Several moments later, the young captain of the Sol caught a glimpse of the SRF-003 Calnus. With a wobbly movement, he brought himself into the pilot seat.

"Faize?" Edge questioned again from the floor. The green haired boy was already making calculations and was pushing all kinds of random buttons,

"I'm calculating the distance between us and the Calnus. I will drop you off then… I will be on my way…" he swallowed at his last sentence.

"… And to where?" Edge asked painfully.

The younger boy turned his head away in pain, "That, I do not know."

The Sol closed on the old shuttle, and as the entrance was granted, the Eldarian ship slowly, and without much energy, tiredly landed in the backside of the Calnus. The hatch slid open, granting Edge to exit and bid farewell to his friend.

The blonde captain walked up to the extraterrastrial being, who had his eyes fixed on the devices ahead of him.

"Faize…"

"I know, Edge. I know."

Edge Maverick grabbed the side of the Sol, when he thoughtfully turned to Faize,

"See you later, Faize Sheifa Beleth." Faize couldn't bear to look up and gaze into those emerald eyes. He knew that in that instant, he'd break. He gripped the control panel, with such force, his already pale knuckles paled even more.

"Farewell, Edge Maverick."

Edge nodded, and jumped out of the Eldarian ship. He hurriedly grabbed something he could hold on. His blonde hair swirled, as a huge wind blew in the hangar, as the gates were opened to outer space. The Sol powerlessly rose from the ground, and turned towards the open gates of the Calnus. With an ungraceful move, the Sol almost literally threw out itself.

Soon after the gates closed, sealing him away from his friend, maybe forever.

Faize could not bear it anymore. Exhaustion took over and he unconsciously slumped onto the floor of his ship, his eyes filled with tears, which was known not to be shed by this one certain Eldarian…

Neither of them knew, that they both shed tears for each other, both hoping the other will have a fortunate future…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Faize couldn't remember how much time had passed ever since he passed out.

However, when he woke up, his aircraft wasn't moving anymore.

All he knew, he was in lying position, and that he definatley had to know where he was and what was going on. He slowly sat up, finding out that there was a blanket wrapped around him.

A _blanket._

"?" he quickly discarded the blanket away, and hopped off the bed.

Bed? Blanket?

He looked around his surroundings, bewildred.

First off, the place he resided was atleast not hostile. It was a simple room, with a bed, desk, two windows. The room he occupied was not small, yet not too big. He instantly reached for his belt – his rapier was gone. However, he soon found it next to the desk, unharmed.

Suddenly, he found out that discarding the blanket was indeed a stupid idea, as it was really cold. For a moment, he lit up,

"Am I on Lemuris?" he remembered, that planet was really cold, from the moment he and his group of friends arrived. If he's on Lemuris, that would mean…

"Lymle?" he rushed out of the room, heart pounding, secretly hoping that a familiar voice would answer his call,but he only found a corridor, that led to three rooms – one was a kitchen, the other one seemed to be another bedroom, and the other room seemed to be the living room.

He quickly put his hands on his ears – thank Heavens, he still had his ear-devices. Now, he glanced down at himself, and to his horror, his clothes were _changed_. Instead of his Eldarian suit, he was wearing something almost identical like Earthling outfit. He hadn't seen one ever since he saw a documentary movie about Earthlings. Ugh… these clothes are not even _his_ size!

He was wearing a grey shirt, and a blue pair of pants. The pants were almost too baggy, whereas the shirt was laughably oversized, especially since he was extra thin.

He was not a fashion-follower, but still… he preferred his Eldarian outfit…

"Lymle!" Faize exclaimed, his tone slightly skipping a few octaves out of embarassement, "Undressing me and making me wear these awful clothes is certainly the worst prank you ever did to me! We must have a serious-"

"Quit yelling all kinds of random stuff, and be thankful!" an annoyed, slightly high-pitched voice replied, Faize immediatley recognizing it as a female's voice, however not a familiar one. Soon, the voice's owner also came into vision, as she neared the alien.

She had silver eyes, and even her hair looked like it was silver… atleast, her hair was brown, chest-lenghted, but still, it had a very light, almost white fair tone in it. She wore a pair of jeans and a white top, nothing out of the ordinary, but her eyes, which seemed to sentence Faize to death as she glared at him,

"And my name is _certainly_ not Lymle!" Faize goggled at her. Where in the galaxy is he?

"Where am I?" he blurted out. The young girl raised an eyebrow at him,

"You're in the outskirts of a city. Like a farm, if you wish."

"My question may not have been obvious. I was referring to the planet. Which planet have I landed on?"

"On the Mars." she snapped sarcastically. It was Faize's turn to raise an eyebrow,

"That is impossible. The Mars is uninhabitaded, not to mention, it's surface is also dry, and the whole planet is covered in red stones. Hence I have not yet seen anything close to that, I must say, that the planet we are having a conversation on is _definatley_ not planet Mars. I have many questions to ask of you. Please, answer this one also truthfully. And I would also like to know what year is it and…" he sharpened his gaze, "Were you the one who changed my clothes?"

The girl sighed tiredly and rubbed her temples as she spoke, "Man, you are quite a chatter, are you? You are on planet Earth in 2010. And yes, I did change your clothes, because you really could be detected within kilometres. You fell into the nearby forest in that aircraft of yours, falling out, and bleeding. I thought you would not want to be eaten by wild animals, so I brought you here." she crossed her arms, "And what on Earth were you thinking, driving such an aircraft in a state like that? Did you do that for the NASA or what?"

"NASA?" Faize blinked, "I have no idea what NASA is, however the fact that I landed here is because I have been in a battle that wore me out so much, I have lost control of my own ship, and landed here, on planet Earth. I had no intention to scare you, or do anything harmful. I humbly thank you, for taking care of my wounds, and not letting me to face the ultimate demise by the fangs of wild animals." he slightly bowed from chest, his green bangs falling infront of his eyes.

The nameless girl blinked, seemingly trying to believe everything he said.

"I only believe you, because you have green hair,and that it seems like your eyes are naturally this purple without contacts and also… I have seen those weird blue glowing tattoos on your body. Not ordinary tattoos, if you ask me. Who… and… what are you…? Are you a UFO? And what is your intention here…?" she blinked, and for the first time in their conversation, her facial expressions seemed to soften. She led him into the living room, onto the sofa. Faize sighed.

Edge and Reimi were not this difficult…

_Edge… Reimi…_

He closed his eyes,

"My name is Faize Sheifa Beleth. I am an Eldarian, or an „alien" if you wish…" he eyed the girl, "As a matter of fact, neither do I know who you are."

She nodded, "My name is Sonia Maverick."

_Maverick? Is she…?_

"M-Maverick?" he blurted out. Was he talking to a kin of Edge? She doesn't even look like him! Or have his personality!

"What?" She snapped "That's a really common surname!"

"…" Faize looked into her eyes now, "Also, you have mentioned the difference in my eye colour. How come yours are not "normal" either? I thought you Earthlings only have a variety of three colors – brown, blue and green."

She let out a sigh, "One might think that it is cool to have such an eye color, like mine. But it really is not. I have this, because I have an eye-infection that has no cure at all. Some might say it is „wolf-blindness" but this is not that, just similar to it. The only difference between the normal wolf-blindness and mine, that my eyes actually changed color. I cannot see a thing in the darkness or in a dimly lit room. It is quite a curse, as I cannot live a normal lifestyle of a teenager."

For a moment, Faize felt sorry for the girl.

"So um… what are your intentions? Do you not wish to go back to your home… planet?" he felt that the girl still could not fully digest the fact that she is speaking to an outer-space-being. He shifted in his seat,

"I have made a huge sin before… departing towards your planet. And I wish to have a new life. To repent everything I have done wrong."by the end of his sentence, he was staring at his shoes. When did he develope such a childish behaviour?

_Childish_…

***Flashback***

"_Lymle!" The scream of Faize could be heard in the Calnus, as the little girl somehow managed to draw on the wall on his side of their shared room. _

"_What in the world were you thinking, doing something illogical like that!" even though she was an arm-reach of him, he still yelled at her. The little girl gazed at her shoes in embarassament,_

"_Faize… you've been so weird lately, kay?"_

"_That is not a reason to behave so irrationally! Lymle, act like your age when you're rooming with me!"_

_She looked up at him, "But Faize… you are being allogical too…"_

"_That's __illogical__ Lymle, and-"_

"_You always keep saying, I'm just a little girl, kay? And you always treat me like one…"_

"_Lymle I-!"_

"_And when I do something wrong…" she slightly tilted her head, "You scold me as if I were your age. Faize… you're weird, kay?" That statement hit him like a brick._

"_Lymle… I…"_

"_You dummy, Faize." Lymle sniffed, "That's nothing harmful, kay? Only a protection symbol. But if you don't like it… Then wipe it off. I don't care, kay?" with that, she marched out of the room…_

***End of flashback***

"…Faize?" he suddenly snapped out of his memory.

"Excuse me. I was not paying attention." he replied back. Sonia raised an eyebrow,

"Believe me, I have noticed. I asked, where will you live."

"That is a really good question indeed." he crossed his legs now, only to hold onto his knee, "It would be disrespectful from me to ask shelter from you, as you already had done more than you could for me. That I thank you for. Now I must ask for a proper accomodation-"

"Hold your horses, space-boy." Sonia held up one hand, "Even though your such a chatter, and seem to be clever…" Faize's left eye twitched, "…I'm impressed you haven't noticed, that this place is a kind of hotel for those, who seek to have trip in the mountains. So basically, it is my job to give strangers room to stay."

Faize's eyes widened, "That would conclude as-"

"You are indeed allowed to stay." Sonia nodded, her long hair snaking forth as she bobbed her head, and ending up on her chest, "However, I do need a kind of payment. You'll do the chores."

That was a sentence Faize never wanted to hear. Desperatley, he said "I must disappoint you – I am a horrible cook."

"Who said you have to cook?" Sonia grinned. "You'll help me with the animals."

"Animals, you say?" Faize quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes,"she huffed, "I have three horses and a wild dog, who lives in the forest, but we have bonded quite well. Oh, and some chickens and cuccoos aswell. So yes, plenty of stuff to do."

"If I'm not rude to say but… you don't look like an ordinary farm Earthling."

"Don't judge a book by it's cover, space-lad." Sonia said sharply, yet slightly playfully. "You're too fast to jump to conclusions. I run this hotel, or motel, or how to name it properly, yet I still have a great city life when I'm not working."

"Besides… " she looked at Faize's change clothes, "You indeed need proper way of dress. I mean, clothes. You look quite horrible in my ex's stuff."

"Your axe?" He asked bewildred, making her chuckle.

"My EX. Ex- boyfriend." to his stare, she continued, "My ex… Parnter? Mate? Male partner…?"

"Alright, I understand now." he replied, blushing slightly.

"We'll depart tomorrow to the city." she said, "We'll get you some stuff. We'll have to lie about your identity though… I'm not sure what would they say if I said I have a kid from the Mars…"

"Eldar." he corrected, annoyed. She raised both of her hands,

"No matter, though, really. They will all think you are elven, no matter what we say. Oh well..."

"Elven?" he blinked,

"In… Earthling mythology, it is said that elven people have pointy ears. They are only in fantasy books, though. Like fairytales." she stretched out, yawning,

"All right, I have worked hard all day long. I deserve a plenty of rest. How about you Faize?"

"I indeed feel tired aswell. It seems like my wounds are sapping my energy."

"I doubt that the slightest." she nodded and stood up. Even though the Sun was still up, she needed to get in bed before darkness came.

"Miss Sonia." Faize called, as Sonia was already at the doorframe. She looked back,

"Yes, Faize?"

He smiled slightly, "Thank you once again for taking me in. I am in your dept."

She snorted and smiled, "You may call me Soni if you wish. Just don't get too formal, kay? Good night."

_Kay…_

He let out a sigh, as soon as she was out of ear reach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

Faize remained on the couch for a while. He watched the Sun settle, wind blew the nearby trees. Just as the leaves in the air, his mind also drifted to his friends he left behind.

How are they? Do they miss him? Do they think of him? Will he be remembered as an evil person?

His eyes lingering on his surroundings, he scanned the room. His attention was attracted by a small framed picture, that was put on the desk, the picture facing the desk's surface.

Knowing he won't be disturbed by his only companion, he slowly leaned towards the desk, and grabbed the small framed picture.

He flipped it, so it was facing him – the picture was about a man and Sonia, embracing each other, smiling into the camera.

_Maybe he is the male she spoke about._ Faize thought. He observed the man – he looked quite dark, as he had almost jetblack hair, whereas Sonia's silverlike hair seemed to sparkle next to him.

_So it does seem like opposites attract each other._ he thought. While the girl seemed really happy, that man had a down,sorrowful look in his eyes, as if he was knowing something dark is about to happen, but tries to keep it a secret.

Sighing, he put down the picture, making it face the desk again. Deciding he needs some training, he stood up, and headed towards his now own room to get his rapier. As he was passing by Sonia's room, he glanced in through the slightly ajar door.

She was already curled up in her bed, her silverlike hair glistering in the last rays of the Sun. His thoughts wondered to her. She seemed to believe him instantly, which made Faize wonder.

Howcome she accepted him so easily? She should have been frightened, or atleast, be at awe of him. Like the people did on Lemuris.

_Lemuris…_

The Eldarian utopia, eh…?

_Lymle Lemuri Phi..._

_That's the planet's name..._

He shook his head, trying to dismiss the pang of pain he felt in his stomach.

He needs training to get his mind off.

Slightly clenching his rapier, he wandered out through the backdoor of the inn (he adressed it as inn).

A beautiful yard lay ahead of him, fences surrounding it, high enough to keep the so-called horses in. The yard stretched out till the beginning of the forest, and was wide enough to put three imaginary Sols next to each other. Even if they spread their wings, they would fit comfortably.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a big breath of the now night air. It felt so sweet, so refreshing for him. The weather was chilling, though now he was not so cold – he knew he only was a few minutes ago, because of his sleep. Shaking himself up a bit, he relaxed his muscles, and began his daily training, like he did so when he was still a crew member of the Calnus.

He kept on his training for atleast an hour, trying to forget the slight pain he always felt when he did some more energy-craving moves. During one time of his training, he heard the bushes move, and several paws hitting the ground not so far from him. He immediatley halted, and peered around for anything unusual. Finding nothing, and hearing nothing, he shrugged, and positioned himself for the next combos he wanted to practice.

"You really are a heavy sleeper, huh?"

Faize froze the moment he heard Sonia's now calm, and slightly drowsy voice. He looked behind him, to see the girl in dark silver nightgown, her hair swaying in the night breeze. Right next to her was a dog, which seemed to be a mix of a wolf and something other canine he did not know.

When he was about to question how she could come out, he saw that she was holding onto the dog's neck. So the dog had led her here…

"I'm sorry if I awoke you." Faize said and put his rapier away, "I was only-"

For his surprise, she smiled, "No need to talk. You have a lot on your mind, right? I understand. But you still need your rest. Your wounds aren't completely healed yet." she stroked the dog's head, who began to pant in a friendly way.

"I understand. Thank you for your concern." he began walking towards her. As he reached her, he noticed she was staring somewhere around him, but not at him. As he focused on her eyes, he saw the root of the problem – or atleast, maybe – the black dot in her eye did not go wide in the dark, instead, it got smaller, making her eyes completly silver. She looked quite scary at the moment, without the black dot in her eye.

"You've gained to know something, right?" she smiled again, uncertain where to look. She was staring right at Faize's nose. He let out a chuckle,

"You amaze me, Soni. Even though in the dark you are blind-"

"I'm not blind." she cut in "I just can't see." that small sentence made something big stir in the Eldarian. He almost forgot what he wanted to say.

"I just wanted to ask about that picture on your desk."

"Ah, that." Faize felt slight uneasiness in her tone, "I will talk about that tomorrow, alright? When we get back from shopping. It is a long story I wish not to share with you in this cold night."

"I cannot agree with you more. Shall I...?" he began, but she shook her head.

"No thanks. Scarr will lead me back. Thank you for asking though. Good night!" with that, she held onto the dog again, who patiently walked back with her into the room of hers.

Faize stood there for some moments to gather his thoughts, but the urgent breeze made him shiver and convinced him that he indeed needs to be in a warm bed.

_Where...am I?_

_He glanced around in the darkness he was standing in._

_However, soon a small glint of light appeared in the darkness. The light got bigger, and soon, it took the form of Edge._

_Edge...?_

_His friend smiled at him, and gently put his hand on his shoulder, and nodded._

_Immediatley, Edge turned into Sonia, her silver eyes (now with the black dot) glistering with the same light Edge had._

_Edge... ?_

_Sonia...?_

"_Faize." both the voice of Sonia and Edge echoed in his mind, "Walk your own path. Step by step. Learn from your mistakes. Never regret your decision. Never take your eyes off of your heart's desire."_

_My... heart's desire...?_

"WAKE UP, SUNSHINE!" yelled a high-pitched voice and then a huge burst of light came into his view,

"AAGHH!" he screamed and immediatley bonked his head into the head of his bed. "Sonia...!" he groaned and held onto his head.

"Was it really necessary to wake me up so rudely?" he whined, rubbing his head, and glancing at the fully awaken girl, who seemed to glister in the light she just made, by pulling the curtains aside.

"What, you wish me to walking in with a cup of hot chocolate with white cream on it, and sing you a melody, in hope you wake up?" she asked sarcastically. She was now in black pair of shorts, on her upper side of her body she wore a red sleevless top, and a white open shirt.

"I would agree on the first part. Regarding your singing however, I have my doubts." he sat up, and rubbed his eyes now. Sonia snorted and walked out of his room.

"Get on some other clothes and come to the kitchen. I have made breakfast. After you've finished, we'll go to the city." she called from outside. Faize stretched, and began to search for some clothes that would not look so horrible, he could face outsiders.

"TAKE A SHOWER FIRST!" Sonia screamed, before Faize could even touch a single cloth, "You have practiced in the evening, haven't you? Scram to the bathroom, NOW!"

_Geez... _Faize thought. He grabbed onto some outfit he found and began his search for the bathroom.

He quickly took a shower, put his older clothes aside and put on the new ones, that looked slightly better on him. When he stepped into the kitchen, Sonia was talking to someone on the phone, and motioned him to sit down and eat the small breakfast she made. He nodded and mouthed a thank you and began his small meal, that consisted of eggs and ham.

He didn't intend to listen, but even though she walked into another room, he clearly heard the conversation she had.

"... But I told you all I know. It was not _my_ fault that-" she seemed to got cut off. Faize tried to concentrate on his fried eggs,

"Listen, I told him everything all right? I'm not to blame! I wanted to help but-" Faize never thought once that he'd try to occupy his mind about why the fried egg is colored yellow,

"Me! It's not like I stabbed him! Yes, I was there when he- "Maybe because of the lack of pigments? Or the embrio?

"No, listen! LISTEN TO ME, FOR GOD I SWEAR, I'LL HANG UP ON YOU!" finished with his meal, he walked up to the sink to wash his dishes he used. Oh, how he loved the sound of water flowing...

"Listen, I have better stuff to do. My cousin is here, and I must spend time with him, alright? I will talk to you later. Bye." Faize now snapped. He? Her cousin?

"You all set?" She seemed to be a little out of breath, as Faize turned to her.

"Someone really got on your nerves, I see." She put the phone back to it's holder and now grabbed some keys.

"Some people just don't understand, that the other one has feelings aswell. I understand that they feel horrible pain and all but... I'm not to blame." she closed her eyes for a second, but quickly regained herself. The young Eldarian looked at her questioningly. In reply, she shook her head.

"Later. Now then. You will lie everyone that you are my cousin, and you love elves, alright? They will believe this, because you do look younger than I." He raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask your age?"

"I'm 24." Faize let out a cough of surprise.

"Excuse me? You are older than I am?" She did not seem surprised,

"Why, aren't you 14 years old?" Faize snapped,

"I'm 18! " This time, Sonia was amazed,

"YOU! 18? I don't believe that!"

"I most certainly am! Now, shall we take a leave now?" Faize asked annoyed, and a bit offended.

She laughed sweetly, a voice Faize never thought he would hear from her. "Alright, don't get too jumpy. You're as tense as a spring, loosen up a little. C'mon now." she led him out, locked the door and walked up to her dark green colored Ranger car. Faize looked at he vehicle disbelievengly. Sonia turned to him from the driver's seat.

"Now what? You haven't seen a car?"

"It's not that." he said, and inspected the car closer, "I never thought it would be this dirty."

"Would you just get in and shut up?" She snorted. "Besides, if you are this picky about my car's condition, how about you wash it down everyday, huh?"

"If that means, I have nothing to do in the kitchen, then it is more than fine with me." he replied as he got into the car, right next to her. She rolled her eyes and smiled secretly.

Turning the key, she started up the vehicle.

It was going to be a long day, Faize knew. He looked at his now new friend, who seemed to calm down a bit since the distressing phone call. He let a smile graze his lips.

_Edge said... I'm like a little brother to him..._

_Sonia said I should say I'm her cousin..._

He now turned his head towards the road, and let the smile become wider.

_Even if she's not kin to Edge, she does have that light inside of her just like he does. _

He closed his eyes for a thought,

_And if they do... I will also posess this light aswell. I want it. I will become strong in my own way_.

He opened his eyes, within them, determination was stronger than ever, shining the purest of purple.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

The two friends sat in the car, the young girl telling Faize what to lie when they ask about him.

"... And say that you wanted to cosplay... uhm..." Sonia tapped the stirring wheel in thought, "An elf from Lord of The Rings."

"Lord of the Rings?" he questioned, "Is that a novel of some sort?"

"It is a trilogy." She nodded, "However, they also made a movie of it. A quite good one if you ask me. It was a huge breakthrough in the media."

"And what does it have to do with me? Do they have green hair and ear-device like mine?" Sonia cleared her throat,

"To be honest, no... Argh, you are so hard to disguise! Why don't you take those earstuff off?"

"No way in the world!" his tone slightly jumped a few octaves and he protectively put his hands on his ear. "To me, these are like clothes. It would be impolite for me to take these off."

"Dummy." Sonia murmured. Her statement made his hands drop to his knee.

_Dummy..._

Faize once again felt a slight pain in his stomach, but he ignored it. He patiently drummed on his knee with his fingers, as Sonia kept on talking,

"Anyway, stick close to me. A lot of people know me and will begin to talk to me, for that, forgive me. Our main mission is get you normal clothes since you will work with me from now on, isn't that right?" Her statement lit Faize's mood greatly. He turned his head towards her, with an honest smile and nodded.

"Well then, I don't want the inn's reputation to go low. You have to look stylish, even when feeding the chickens and cleaning off the horses."

"Do you have customers often?"

"One, two people per week." she stirred the wheel, making them turn, "That is a fair amount, if you ask me. When the holidays are on, I get 7-8 people aswell, and they stay there for atleast a week. Now THAT can be troublesome."

Faize did not ask why it could be. He could clearly see yesterday night, that the fact she is blind... no, _can't see in the dark_ greatly made her life harder. The rest of the journey (which was not much) was spent in silence, Faize trying to digest all the information he could get as he scanned their surroundings, slightly amusing his only companion. To him, this planet was not-so-underdeveloped like Lemuris, however, still lacked a lot.

_Lemuris..._

_Why did he think of Lemuris? Why not Roak, or some other planet, WHY LEMURIS?_

_**Because that is your Utopia**__._

_Your heart's __**true**__ desire._

"We're here, cousin." Sonia once again snapped him out of his thoughts and also made him flinch, " Get used to it, I must address you as my kin. " the car slowly came to a halt infront of a huge building.

"It troubles me not." he replied as he managed to get out of the Ranger. He quickly came to Sonia's side, as he noticed that most of the people already began staring at him. He slightly felt like he's naked.

"I see you already got some attention." Sonia chuckled. They walked into the huge building (Faize thought it was quite small, but thought for Sonia's people, this was huge) and after some turns and going into random corridors (almost all of the passerby people stared at him and even turned around) they were finally at the clothes store. Now, he felt more lost than ever and unconsciously closed onto Sonia like a lost puppy would. The stares made him really nervous.

"Soni." Faize called her the first time by the nickname she offered, "I feel... really nervous. Why are they staring at me?" She sympathetically patted his shoulder.

"Because you look extraordinary. Normal people don't have green hair or have purple eyes. Not to mention your ears. I understand how you feel." Faize knew exactly what she was talking about. To some degree, they were similar.

"C'mon now, celebrity-boy. We must get you some normal clothes, alright?" Since he did not move from his spot, she grabbed his hand and almost literally dragged him to the store.

Inside there was a huge variety of clothes and he did not know what to do. He began walking randomly and looking at random clothes, but the stares and the fact he was shy made everything extremely hard. Sonia noticed this, and walked up to him, who was concentrating very hard on one paricular shirt that was made for women. She gently put her hand on his shoulder, making him jump, but listen to her,

" Why don't you get in one of those changing cabins? I'll bring you some clothes and try them on, alright? Use the curtain to conceal yourself." Faize gladly took the idea, and almost literally ran into one of those cabins, and hid himself as fast as possible.

Sonia sighed sadly. She knew he was going to be shy and all, but this really was too much. To her, he did not look out of the ordinary, in fact, she was glad someone else was special like she. She remembered her first time in the public. She got the same stares, and they even pointed at her and whispered something like „The wolfgirl" hence her silverlike tones she had.

She fully understood what it was like to stand out of the crowd.

And she also knew, that it was only a matter of time, and he would be leaving her and the planet to get back to his old friends. _To him, this would be the best choice_, she thought.

She clapped her hands to take her thoughts off, and concentrated on the clothes.

While she was searching for ordinary, normal outfit for him, Faize was sitting on a chair, his legs curled up to his body, staring at the curtain that was shileding him away from the stares.

He did not want to be an attraction. He only wanted to have a peaceful life, with no one knowing who he was, but this was going horribly wrong. Sonia, on the other hand, was one person he was glad to have by his side, and was now overjoyed by the fact she did not panic or stare at him the first time of their meeting.

Why could they not accept him like Edge, Reimi, Lymle, Bacchus... Myuria... Sarah...Meracle...

His _friends_.

In his mind, their pictures flashed, almost all of them smiling at him, except for Arumat and... _Lymle_. Whenever he thought of her, he could only see her tear-soaked eyes, hiccuping and saying that his cloak did look good on him. Kinda.

He clenched his legs thighter, and bowed his head, trying to hide in the secure shelter of his legs.

He just wanted to get back to the inn... Even Sonia's sarcasm was better than this hiding.

The young Eldarian did not measure the time, but he knew that quite some time had passed, when he heard familiar footsteps closing on to his cabin.

"Faize? I brought you some stuff. Care to try it on?" she asked almost sweetly. Even though he wanted to get up, he couldn't. He wanted to be away, and...

"Faize?" he heard the curtain move, and a small gasp. "Faize... hey!" He felt her hand ontop of his head, in a cooing way.

"Faize... don't be so childish, kay?" once again, that pain in his stomach... "Look, these people just look at you, why not ignore them? You are with me, they can do no harm to you, alright?"

"..." he heard her sigh, and for his surprise, she gently stroked his hair. This made a weird lump in his throat form. What in the galaxy was happening to him? And what was this stinging feeling in his eyes? This pang of... something in his chest?

"Listen, if someone, then I understand your feelings. But hiding like this will not help you out. Stand up straight, and be proud that you are not one of the ordinary." his ears moved a little, signaling her that he indeed was listening, "You are one and only in this universe. So what if you have green hair and purple eyes? Hell, if I could have, I would also wear those ear-gadgets. They look really cool!"

He was about to raise his head, when he heard her turn around and the tone in her voice changed dramatically,

"What are you staring at, huh? Don't you have anything better to do?" He heard no footsteps, only a shuffling of feet, signaling they were still there. "Bleeeee!" he could almost see her poking her tongue out. This made them make their leave. As soon as the area was clear, she now patted his head.

"Come now, try these on. Or else, you will have to do the cooking. Gather yourself together, and when you're done, show me how they look on you, alright?" He did not move the slightest. She lost her temper, "STOP BEING EMO, DAMMIT!"

Her yelling did it's trick and he flinched his head up, which made her grin.

"Great! Now, I'll be outside, kay?" _Why does she have to say „kay" all the time?_

As soon as she was out, he sighed in defeat, her words rooting inside of his soul. Something will change inside of him, he's sure of it. He slowly began to undress, revealing his complicated chains tatto, which seemed to glow on his milkpale body. As he was in the process of changing clothes, he heard an unfamiliar male voice calling to his friend,

"Hey, Soni! Long time no see! Why are you standing outside of the cabin...?" Faize blinked. Maybe he was one of those clients she spoke of.

"Hey, Ben." she replied, not so enthusiasticly like he did, "My cousin is here for vacation. I... brought him here to get him some clothes."

"That green haired dude is your _cousin_?" the man asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he is. Why, can't he be? He looks quite extraordinary like I is a family tradition, don't you know that?" She snarled.

"Hey, alright, alright, don't get too offensive there!" he laughed nervously. " I thought you and he, you know..."

"Sheesh, you're all the same as the other males, Ben." Faize already changed his clothes, but he did not want to show himself infront of Sonia's acquaintance.

"But you were holding his hand, and I thought..."

"Ben, you and the others, who just stare at him scare the shit out of him. No wonder he is so shy. Where he comes from, he is already accepted. Why don't you and the other people just go on and accept him like they accepted me?" Faize looked sideways. He did not want to hide anymore. He must go on, no matter how hard it is.

It was so immature of him to hide from people...

_And I was lecturing Lymle about how she should grow up when I..._

_Argh..._

"Soni... I'm sor-"

"Sis?" Faize finally stepped out of the shelter of his curtain, now in his new outfit. He was wearing a dark purple long sleeved shirt, with tribal like tatto and a pair of slightly loose jeans.

Several things had happened at once.

For Sonia, she was touched that he called her sis and looked at him, beaming with happiness.

The so-called Ben was staring at the young Eldarian, who returned the stare. That was because the man she was talking to looked almost identical to the man who he saw on the framed picture on his first night of this planet.

However, both of their attention got taken when Sonia clapped her hands,

"I think you look wonderful, brother! This tribal style really fits you. I'll bring you some more, stay here, alright?" with that, she took off energetically, leaving Ben and Faize staring at each other. Gathering his courage, the Eldarian stretched out his hand.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Faize... Maverick. I'm Sonia's cousin, but prefer to address her as my sister." The man blinked, but caught on quickly, grabbing onto his hand,

"Ben. Ben Jäger. I'm a friend of Sonia's. Glad to get to know you too." he let a small smile play on his lips as he stared at the Eldarian. "You know, I'm glad someone is staying with her."

Faize released the hand, "Why is that, if I may ask?"

Ben sunk his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "You know, almost the whole city knows that she is blind in the dark. Sometimes they rob her during the night, knowing she's helpless when night comes. And since she's blind, she can't even be considered as a witness." Faize's eyes widened. No wonder, she never keeps anything precious in her house and that was the main reason he first thought her house looked heartless.

"If you are aware of that, howcome you are not staying with her?" Ben shifted uncomfortably,

"Do you think I haven't offered her that? I know that she had a boyfriend half a year ago, but ever since they broke up, she's alone and even though I offered her gladly that I would stay by her side, she violently refused." Faize slowly put the picture together in his mind... He looks exactly like that man, so this must mean something really bad happened between her and her old partner that made her trigger those memories whenever she faced Ben.

"Her boyfriend?" he asked innocently.

"About him, I know not too much. I have known her a month apart from their breakup, and ever since I had got to know her, she's been cold and violent to me. I hear that she's nice but no matter how hard I want to get to know her better she's... I feel like I'm walking into a wall."

Faize felt like he had been slapped. Ben was like in the same shoes like he was with Lymle.

She was always distant and cold with him, and only warmed up a little when he left her and the group. And in the end she even...

"I see you guys got on well." Sonia seemed to magically break anyone's train of thoughts. She appeared with a pile of clothes, making Faize almost choke with surprise.

"Alright, Faize, get in the cabin and try these aswell. I hope you'll like them." With that, she gave the mountain of clothes to Faize, who seemed to disappear behind them, however, he got back to the cabin obidently.

"Soni, I-" Ben began, but Sonia dismissed him with a wave of her hand,

"It's quite alright. Just don't make Faize uncomfortable, alright?" she crossed her arms and avoided his gaze.

"In fact, he's a good guy. We just had a small chat moments before you came here." he tilted his head a bit. "Do you and he need some help with-"

"No thanks." she refused and now looked into his eyes. "We're doing quite well."

Faize halted for a moment, while trying to get on some other pants on him. The refusial she just done... was quite similar what he did to Edge. And that was not the best step to take. She needs company. And not just his.

"As a matter of fact." Faize peeked out of the curtain, both of them looking at him, "I would be glad to have Mr. Ben accompany us." While Ben smiled, Sonia did a 'I-will-so-kill-you-when-we-are-alone' look.

"Faize, you're very kind. But I don't think Sonia here wants to have me, really. See you later, guys! Be good." With that, he nodded and walked away. Sonia immediately turned to her other friend, who tried to smile sheepishly.

"Faize. What on Earth is your plan?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"M-me? N-nothing in paricular." he gulped, still smiling nervously "I just thought that besides mine, you need someone else's companion aswell."

She let out a sigh, "I would gladly have that, anyone, but Ben's."

"May I ask the reason why?" She only gave him a humourus look.

"I will answer your question, kay? Just get those clothes on, so we could head back to the inn. I prefer talking to you not half-naked but fully dressed." Faize blushed and quickly drew the curtain back.

_Again, with the kay..._

He sighed, and let his left hand sneak up to his chest, to where his heart was beating, and gently grabbed the soft material of a shirt he fancied.

_**Your heart's desire...**_

He closed his eyes and once again, felt that lump in his throat, and that pang in his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

Faize could not believe that they could spend so much time choosing clothes and him trying them all on. Overall, he received ten shirts and ten pair of pants. Even though he wanted to, he was unable to pay, as he was infromed, Fol was not a valid currency on this Earth. At the counter, the woman could not keep her eyes off of him, making the young Eldarian quite uncomfortable, but he was starting to get used to it. Atleast, he was not trying to make a run for it this time, as he knew they were about to leave soon.

The ride back to the inn was uneventful for Sonia, but for her new friend, it was spent peeking at his new clothes,

"I cannot thank you enough, Sonia. How will I repay you though...?"

"Simply." Sonia replied, shrugging her shoulders, "You'll do the chores as I said before. I'll teach you how to take care of the chickens and the horse. I had two, but while you were sleeping, my friend came back for him and took him back. Lucky you. Horses are hard to take care of, if you are a newbie."

"That is not a challenge for me, I'm afraid." Faize replied easily, and leaned against the seat. His statement made the young girl laugh,

"Don't underestimate animals, Faize. Mark my words. You'll regret airing that statement of yours."

"Looking forward to impress you." he replied with a smile. She only shook her head, mumbling incoherent words, smiling to herself. _He is still wet behind the ears when it comes to everyday exercise_, she thought.

"I still stay, that you easily jump to conclusions. That is a big no-no in life, you see." she sighed.

"Your statement is kind of vexing, I must say. I do not jump onto conclusions. I am just being logical. How could an animal, that has lower intelligence than You or I, outsmart any of us?" Faize's tone slightly rose a few octaves, letting Sonia know he was getting annoyed, making her more and more amused.

"Alright. Let's see how will you handle them." she ended their converstation, and slowly parked the car infront of her inn. They got out of the Ranger, Faize bringing in the clothes he got, while his friend was busy locking the car. As Faize wanted to get in, a familiar pairs of paws sound perked his attention. He glanced aside to see the white dog panting at him.

"Oh, hey Scarr." Faize greeted the canine. This dog was definatley friendlier than a certain other _doggie_ he used to know... _Doggie_...

The white dog yelped and wagged it's tail. The previous evening Faize couldn't see the scar that ran across the dog's right eye. Judging by how it coordinated itself, however, he thought the wound was not limiting it's sight.

"Don't think being friends with Scarr will help you out in your duties!" Sonia waved her hand infront of herself, as she closed onto the young Eldarian, who raised an eyebrow at her. "He completely obeys me, even if you are in a life-threatening danger and scream for his help,if I tell him not to, he won't help you."

"Am I glad to have you as friend, now. I dread what kind of enemy would you be. " Faize rolled his eyes as he replied. She chuckled and unlocked the door, letting themselves in.

"Go and pack out your clothes. I'm going to show you how to take care of the few chickens I have."

"I thought you Earthlings _eat_ chicken, not look after them." Faize remarked as he passed her by.

She snorted, "Most of the people, yes. I don't want to kill them. Instead, I buy meat in the mall."

"Isn't that a waste of money?" Faize asked from his room. Sonia walked to the exit to the yard.

"Waste of money? I say, it is saving several lives in one day." she leaned against the doorframe and waited. Scarr pawed in and panting, he looked up at her, who winked.

"Ready when you are." Faize appeared from his room, seemingly ready for his "training". _Boy, he's so gonna be... impressed!_ she thought amusedly.

"Alright, farmboy. Let's go." she said and opened the door and led him to the small barn that was right next to the main building. Faize wondered how come he did not see it yesterday night. Probably because his mind was too occupied with his training.

As she opened the door, he almost immediatley put his hand to his nose. The stench was awful for him – the smell of animals was not something he used to smell on the Calnus...

"What, it doesn't smell nice?" she asked sarcastically. The barn was small, it was enough to let the five chickens live comfortably, who seemed to be happy to see their owner. They immediatley ran to her and began letting out chirping noises.

"I'm not quite used to it yet." he said politely. "They seem to be very attached to you."

"Not to me. Their food." she pointed towards a huge bag, that was full of yellow seeds and corns. She grabbed a handful and showed it to Faize. "Give them 4-5 handfulls a day. If you are not sure then..." she pointed at their feeder, which was empty now "Fill in this feeder till it's quarter."

"4-5 a day. Or quarter their feeder." he repeated, so he would remember. She nodded,

"And watch their water supply. They must have this bowl full." she glanced at the silver bowl, which was half full. She grabbed it, walked out, making the poultry speed after her into the open area. The chickens were really happy to be outside an immediatley began running around randomly.

She poured out the used water, and used the nearby tap (another thing he didn't notice) to fill the bowl. As the weather was good, she set the bowl outside, two of the animals immediatley drinking from it. She stretched out and glanced at them calculatingly, making Faize cock his head sideways.

"The weather seems to be good. They can be outside today, but you will have to bring them inside for the night." Scarr sat down next to her and watched the chickens as they walked randomly. The young Eldarian nodded his head in approval. "And you will clean their barn out." she used her thumb to point at the bar.

"I imagined I would."

"Not just imagine. Do so too." she grinned. "There's a brush that might help you. You know – not the paintingbrush, but the one that looks like a broom-"

"Alright." he said and was about to move, when she grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait." she said and pointed at a white chicken "That one seems to be limping." Faize raised an eyebrow. She was right. That one certain chicken _was_ limping...

"You want me to catch it?"

"Exactly. I wonder how will you be able to do so." she said and leaned against the fence, crossing her arms. A devious smile was visible on her lips. The green haired boy let out a sigh,

"Why do you underastimate me, Soni?"

"Because you overestimate yourself." She poked her tongue out, makig him shake his head.

The chicken was walking unexpectantly, searching for some small seeds or anything digestable. Faize quietly approached the winged one.

_Why in the world am I doing this?_

He slowly spread his arms sideways, ready to catch that pesky little winged creature...

And then the chicken noticed his shadow, an immediatley sped off, away from Faize, who remained there, blinking, giving Sonia a priceless, blank look.

_I thought that chicken was LIMPING?_

Faize was not about to give up, oh no. Sighing, he once again closed on the _limping_ chicken, who was once again searching for something to peck on. _That little brat..._

Silently, he leaned down, but once again, the chicken noticed his shadow and sprang away, swaying it's backside as it was sprinting away from him.

_That does it!_ With a warcry, he raised his hand,

"RISE FORTH OH, EARTH!" he screamed. With the help of his symbology, he raised a wall of earth infront of the poor, harmless chicken, frightening it, and making it run towards Faize. He, who had his adrenaline over his limit, threw himself towards the poultry.

"Faize! What the HELL WAS THAT?" Sonia's scream made him break his concentration and the chicken, which was almost in his grip slipped, making him fall flat on the ground.

The chicken once again was limping peacefully, without any of it's feather's lose.

_How could... someone so unintelligent... Dodge so..._

"Faize? FAIZE?" He felt Sonia's hand on his back. He slowly rose and turned his now dirty face to her.

"It seems like I have failed." he miraculously kept his polite tone.

"What on earth was that?"

"Oh, that? That was symbology. My power..." he began. Sonia shook her head, dismissing him from talking. She already accepted the fact that he was an outsider. Truly, someone from another planet... this must be normal for him.

"I heard enough. So... watch closely for the trick." she walked back to the barn, and a couple of moments later, she came out, with something in her hand.

"Heeere, chicken-chicken-chicken." she said in a singly-sick-tone. She opened her hand, to reveal... a handfull of chicken feed. The limping chicken magically walked towards her and began pecking from her hand. Faize literally felt the blood draining from his face.

"HA!" with a swift movement, she embraced the chicken, which began to scream loudly. With a proud grin, she walked to her friend, with the expression of a _"See? That's how it works!" _

"Lesson number one." She began as she was holding the chicken, inspecting it's leg, "Animals always think of their stomach first. If you want to get to know an animal better or want to get closer to it, start to feed it. Food is vital in their lives."

Faize rolled his eyes. "So, if I want to befriend Scarr... I must feed him?"

"If you want to maintain a good friendship with him, then I advise you to do so. " she said, yet still busy with checking the chicken's leg.

"What's wrong with it's leg?"

"His." she corrected off-handedly, "And it seems like he stepped onto something sharp. D'oh. Stupid chicken." she patted his wing, to somehow easen him up a little, but he still kept on squirming in her grip.

"Stupid dork! Then go and limp all you want!" with that, she let the chicken go, the bird gladly flapping his wings and proudly limping away from them. She sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Do you wish to learn about the horse now or later?"

Faize shifted his weight to his other leg. his mind was occupied with another train of thought, "I would like to ask about the promise you made me today morning." Sonia glanced at him curiously, so he continued, "You said you would tell me about that picture."

The girl's expression darkened, yet remained hard. "Very well. A promise is a promise. But take a shower first." She looked at the sky, sighing. The Sun began do descend. So would her world turn into darkness...

With a nod, he entered before her in the house. She remained there for a few minutes and followed after him. Scarr followed her like a shadow would. The young canine knew that the time he is needed is coming very soon.

As soon as she made herself comfortable on the couch, Faize came in, a tad bit damp from his shower he just had. He wore a short-sleeved shirt, making his tattoo visible on his arms. It seemed like the tribal-like Eldarian tattoo was a part of his shirt.

_Boy, he sure wants to hear this story if he was this quick_. She thought.

"You seem to be in a hurry. It seems like you really are interested in that picture of mine." she commented, as he sat down next to her.

"I indeed do. " The girl in response showed him her index finger,

"I will tell you everything, only on one condition."

"Dare I oppose you?"

"You will also tell me that sin of yours. If you answer „no" however..." she left the sentence unfinished on purpose. He sighed in defeat and nodded. Those wore quite fresh and painful memories indeed...

_Your cloak... kinda... kinda did look okay on you..._

_*hiccup*_

_But only... kinda..._

He clenched his fists, but his face remained expressionless.

"Care to start with who he is?" She let out a long sigh, and braced hercelf up mentally.

"His name was Alex. Alex Wesker. He was my partner, ex-boyfriend... ex-fiancé." Faize immediatley wanted to question why she spoke so past-tense but he figured he'd let her continue. His curiousity must be halted a tad bit. She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her knee.

"We met with help of a group of friends we both shared. We clicked on quite well, and soon, before the two of us could realize, we fell in love." a small, faint smile was visible on her lips,

"How did we realize, you might ask. Heh, well, our friends just told us that we indeed are. Neither of us would believe it, but we eventually did realize our feelings." Faize shifted slightly. How could one not realize a strong feeling, like love?

It's not like he's been in love ever, but it must be a strong feeling if people wrote books about it...

"And we began dating. At first, I thought it would be impossible for me due to my eye-weakness. But we got on greatly, and even if we didn't move in, we met everyday. It was wonderful." Her eyes now darkened, if not visibly, but now her friend knew that she was coming to the part where the memories turned bitter.

"It started on a normal morning. He wanted to get up, but said his back hurt. We both thought that he just had some muscle-problem, so we ignored it." Faize blinked, not wanting to break her thoughts.

"But eventually, he couldn't get up, and he was in pain. I felt useless. I knew some biology and about muscle problems, but I was clueless. I took him to the hospital." She clenched her fists.

"Isn't it horrible... that feeling... that you are useless? When you want to help someone you hold dear, but are powerless and just watch him squirm in pain? That's what I could do. Watch him." Oh, Faize knew that feeling, maybe too much. It was that helplessness that made him reach for that power that eventually took his mind. He lowered his gaze bitterly.

"So at the hospital... They diagnosed that he has bone cancer." Faize froze. "On our Earth, it is incurable. It is a slow, painful death." her eyes now were empty.

"I walked every day into the hospital, and visited him, wanting to be by his side whatever might happen. As we were engaged."

"One day, he became angry at me and said he doesn't want me anymore and I should stop visiting him. I was hurt at that time, but now I know he only did it because he knew it was painful for me, as it was a torture for him. A horrible, painful mental and physical torture." She looked down, her eyes shining with tears.

"Three months before you fell from the sky, he died in pain and agony." A tear made it's way from her eyes towards her tigh. "Now his family blames me for not taking care of him, and making him so depressed, he died. I am not to blame. He wanted me to be happy, that is why he sent me away, yet it pained him more than it pained me."

"Few weeks later, I was diagnosed to... carry something from him." Faize's eyes widened.

"His... His disease?" With her teary eyes, she smiled at him,

"No. Much more than that." Faize couldn't think of anything else but...

"I was told that I am pregnant." Faize's eyes couldn't get wider and even his mouth hung open. She let out a sorrowful chuckle.

"Even though I was over the moon, and glad that I finally have something from him... to remind me..." she slowly stroked her stomach, "Something wrong happened. It seems like the disease I'm carrying not only effects my vision and hair... but it killed the small infant..." Faize closed his mouth and was clueless about how he should react. She sighed and wiped her tears.

"Concluding I am unable to bear a child. My system is too agressive to do so. So... basically, that is the story behind the picture." With hurt in her eyes, she set them on her extraterrastial friend, who was blank and pale from her story.

"Even though Fate threw huge obstacles at me, I will not give up nor run away. This pain will make me stronger." determination was stron in her voice and she beamed with the same, invisible light that Edge carried.

_Edge..._

_Reimi..._

_Lymle..._

"... " Faize remained silent.

"Your turn now." She said sharply.

The Sun now began to descend, but not enough to make Sonia lose her vision. The tones however magically hinted the powders of red, making the room warm with orangish-redish color, despite of the chilling topics they were talking about.

Faize indeed was in need of this warmth, as the memories still bit him, like the sharp fangs of a monster, and made him give chills and shivers down his spine.

He ran several fingers through his hair, and took a deep breath,

"It all started on planet Aeos, that is similar to your Earth... My bretheren and I, the Eldarians were close to that planet as we were..." he began from the very beginning... He knew he had to start to explain everything.


	6. Chapter 6

_I must say now, we are very close to the ending! Hence this chapter will be kind of fluffy and full of reminescence (: Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 6.**

Faize's tale took hours, it darkened. He was only broken from his chains of story when Sonia asked him to turn the lights on, so that she could see him. He continued, and two hours later he came to the part where he was defeated at Nox Obscurus by his friends.

He was about to continue with the part where Edge and Lymle were there for him, but his throat just wouldn't let him speak.

His silver haired companion cocked her head.

"What's wrong? Did something else happen?" she asked.

Faize opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He was already lost in his memories, dipped inside them, like a rock would be, that was thrown into the ocean...

***Flashback***

_He was defeated... He lay there, helpless on the cold ground of Nox Obscurus, with Edge kneeling next to him, encouraging him. Moments later, Edge noticed that a certain small girl also came to his side._

_His neck aching in doing so, he turned his attention towards Lymle. Her eyes were teary and sadness was etched in her features. His stomach painfully clenched at a sight such as this._

"_What's wrong, Lymle? That look doesn't suit you very well..."_

_She hardened her gaze, but still remained sorrowful,_

"_You dummy Faize. You're just a big, hopeless dummy." He noticed she was clenching her hands. He let out a weak sigh and tried to smile for her,_

"_Yes. I think so too. Though it's a little vexing to find myself agreeing with you." she sniffed at his statement. He tried to make her feel a tad bit better by letting out an amused-yet-painful chuckle._

"_I... lied to you, kay?" her sentence made him caught off guard._

"_Lymle?" his question sounded more like a whimper. Sniffing, she turned her back to him._

"_The... truth... the truth is... your cloak... kinda... kinda did look okay on you... but only... only... kinda..." by the end, she was crying, he could hear. He felt a little bit warmer now. He understood that this was not the original statement she wanted to say, but he decided to accept it._

"_Thank you, Lymle." she turned back to him, her face now soaked in tears. This time his chest felt like it had been stabbed. "It makes me... kind of happy... to hear you say that..."_

_He hoped she would understand the message he tried to hint. She was more mature than ever and seemed to show emotion, which she was unable till now._

_Till now..._

_Till she met him..._

_Till she met... Him._

_**Him...**_

***End of flashback***

"Faize...? Faize? Earth to Faize!" Sonia was waving her hand infront of the deep in thought Eldarian. He snapped out of his sea of memories.

"You don't want to talk about that fragment of memo-" she froze. Faize's eyes were... _pink._

Not red... PINK! Those sparkling pink eyes were locking with a pair of silver ones.

"What is the matter?" Sonia could only gape at him.

"Faize... you're... weird. Why are your eyes... pink?"

"I thought you were listening to my story." His eyes now returned to their original color. "And my eyes are certainly not pink."

"Well, now they aren't." she sighed.

"After that," he continued "the ground below me collapsed and I fell into my aircraft, right into the Sol..."

He swiftly ended the story, without mentioning that little scene with Lymle.

"And that is how I ended up on your planet." he ended, crossing his legs, "About how you found me, however, I have no clue."

"Well, you were outside and I brought you in. Oh and by the way. There were several devices next to and around you. By now they must have gotten dry enough to be functional." He was about to get up and get them when Sonia grabbed his shoulder, "Faize. Stop blaming yourself. You did this out of good-heartedness."

"..." he turned his head away from her.

"Will you let those, who died because of that power... be their souls in vain?" this statement slightly perked his interest up, "What would they say, if the so-called dark evil that killed them – or the puppet, who was used by that power – has become a crybaby, who does nothing more than to mourn and not able to lead a normal life?" Faize clenched his fists.

"I know you didn't want to kill them, but to save them... Because they died... Atleast... Stand up and try to take a turn of life and live! Yes, you have made a mistake, but who doesn't?"

"And don't forget." her voice now became a small whisper, " Everytime a light fades, somewhere else, a new light will shine, with much more energy. Everytime a soul passes on, a new soul is born anew. Everytime something turns to ash, something borns from that dust."

Returning his gaze to Sonia, she now noticed those eyes were bathing in crimson.

_Everytime his eye color changes... He supresses an emotion... This time sadness... Why was it pink last time?_

"I am going to collect my devices now. I thank you for sharing your history with me." he said softly, his eyes now once again purple, " May I ask where did you put them?"

"It's alright lad, since you're living with me."_Kinda..._ "I've put them onto your desk, while you were having a shower. Oh, and about your uniform. It's drying in the basement. Took several days to wash."

"I just cannot thank you enough, can I?" he bowed "I think I will retire for the night now."

"Leaving so soon?"

"Excuse me?" He blinked and turned back from the doorframe. Sonia pointed towards the window,

"What about the chickens?"

_Whoops..._

As fast as he could, he sprang out to the courtyard, and with Sonia's trick, he managed to get all the chickens inside. The silver haired girl chuckled and shook her head.

"Still a rook when it comes to animals..." Scarr lifted his head from his paws and panted at Sonia patiently. She smiled down at him, "You think so too, eh?"

"Wrooof." he let out and wagged his tail. She grinned,

"Alright, boy. I'm sleepy, so walk me to my bedroom please." She got up, and so did Scarr, waiting for her to grab onto his neck. She turned off the lights and held onto Scarr, who lead Sonia to her room.

While Sonia was getting ready to sleep, her Eldarian companion gathered his devices and began pushing all kinds of buttons on a certain hand-held device that he used so many times on the adventure he and Edge's friends had. The Sol's control unit lay on his desk.

No wonder Sonia wouldn't know what that is, as the texts were written in Eldarian language. Softy, the device he was busy with began to beep.

_Alright now... I am getting something unusual here..._

He pushed several buttons and his eyebrows slid closer to each other as the screen flashed blue and a certain text appeared.

_Radioactiv... beam?_

It was faint, but it was there. Faize got out of bed and walked in the way the signal got stronger. To his surprise, it really did yet it was not dangerous enough for any biologycal system.

The signal finally got the strongest when he was...

Pointing it towards his only humanoid companion who was currently resting in bed.

_Sonia...? Radioactive... Beams?_

He began calculating and pushing all kinds of buttons, but everytime he recalculated, it always ended up the same...

_This means..._ he now raised his head to look at her sleeping form. Scarr woke up and was panting at him, _That she was exposed to high-dose of radioactivity... which would answer why she has this disease..._

He looked away from her. Losing her love, then a baby, being so unique... Deadly unique... and still, she was so strong...

He blinked. He wanted to be strong aswell. To protect all the ones he holds dear...

_Lymle..._

Again, his stomach... He gripped his stomach. What was this disease?

"Sonia!" He panicked. The girl let out a groan,

"What, Faize?" The questioned Eldarian turned on the lights for her. She drowsily looked at him as he sat on the edge of her bed. He never acted this way.

"I... I think I have contracted a disease." Sonia raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked flatly, rubbing her eye and lifting herself up with her other arm.

"Please take this matter seriously, Soni! I think it has to do with the organs inside of my ribcage." she yawned,

"Uh huh... Tell me the symptoms." her hand now fell close to her stomach.

"Well..." Faize began, "I feel a clenching pain in my stomach... or something... big in my chest... Like it is trying to suffocate me... and then..." Sonia's eyebrows now disappeared beneath the fringe of her hair, " I feel like there is a lump in my throat that also wants to suffocate me."

"However, they don't come to occasionally, but ever since the Nox Obscurus event and... losing my friends..." He felt it again. " Like this, now! It hurt again!"

"Hmmm." Sonia put her hand to her chin. "Edge."

"Excuse me?" He blinked. Sonia shook her head.

"Reimi."

"What is your point, saying my friend's name aloud?"

"Lymle."

He suddenly put his hand to his chest, "Again! This pain! What is this?" She let out a a tired sigh,

"Faize. You have the L-Virus."

"The L... Virus?" he whispered and seemed to be lost "Is it... deadly?"

Sonia let out a sigh and with her free hand, rubbed her temple, "No, Faize, it isn't. The L-Virus is..." she suddenly ducked her head, naking him yelp, "LOVE!"

His hand still on his chest, he argued, "No way! Excuse me, but your analysis is incorrect! I am incapable of falling in love! Eldarians aren't supposed to-"

BONK! Sonia whacked him on the head, "That was for waking me up so rudely. And also for saying this stupidness aloud. "

"There is no such word as 'stupidness'." he chimed in, rubbing his head. This was the second time a friend hit him in the head.

"I don't care about that right now. What you said was STUPID." she waved her palm threateningly, "Everyone is capable of love and care. If you do think that you are not in love, however," she rolled her eyes, "Then I say that you care about someone very much."

"I still think there are several gaps in that analysis of yours. If this is correct, why do I have disorder in my stomach and-"

"DISORDER?" She shrieked, "That pain in your stomach is what we call "One has butterfly in one's stomach" – now THAT is a sign of love. When you think of someone precious and your tummy goes funny!"

"For Earthlings, maybe but-" she waved her palm again to silence him,

"And for that chest-pain you told me about! That is because your heart beats quicker when you think of that person! And that lump in your throat is because you wish to cry, but supressing the urge to do so."

He was about to butt in again, but she wouldn't let him, "Oh, don't tell me that I'm not correct! Between you and me, who has been in love, huh?" Faize silently looked at her pillow. Sonia was now wide awake and sat up, crossing her arms,

"I can tell if you are in ... you care about someone. So, what was that fragment of memory which you didn't tell me about?" Faize now returned his gaze to her and as she expected, his eyes were pink again. Delibaretly, she pointed at his eyes,

"See? When you want to close off an emotion, your eye color changes! When you are mad, it is red, but when I talk about something that might concern Lymle it turns to pink!"

"But Lymle is a little girl! Still a child and-"

"You told me yourself," she argued, "That she is slightly younger than you are, yet she has the body of a small girl because of a curse!" Faize swallowed. She indeed was right.

_Maybe the curse has been broken..._

_Maybe she grew up..._

_Maybe she doesn't hate him any longer..._

"How much time has passed since you left her?" Faize did something he never yet. He was fidgeting with his cloth,

"I have no idea. I must have fallen into a black hole, hence I ended up in another dimension into your Earth of 2010."

The girl was hesitant to learn more so she just nodded, "I think... it would be best to consider returning to her." To this remark, he snapped up his head,

"There's no way I'm returning!"

"Faize! Do you really want to run away like a criminal?" she snarled. She liked having him here at the inn, but he really did not belong here."Only real criminals go and get exiled! But Faize, you are NOT one of them!"

"Ngh." he grasped his cloth now, but did nothing. She looked at him sympathetically,

"Listen, go to sleep now, alright? Get your head clear little."

Faize nodded and silently left her room. Her world turned into darkness and soon it lulled her to sleep.

In his room, Faize opened his window and kept gazing at the stars.

_To think... I've been on several of those planets ... Traveled through the endless star ocean..._

He lowered his gaze a little.

_Met so many friends and so many memories..._

He closed his eyes and wondered about the memories he chose not to share.

_**On the Calnus, before departing to Roak**_

_Faize was all alone in the room, still checking all the information and data they received on the Cardianon. _

_He was not a night owl, but the information and the „Epiphany of Guidance" certainly perked his interest up. While everyone else was asleep, he was diligently browsing through files and pictures, not noticing the sound of sliding doors open._

_"Faize?" a small fragile voice made Faize turn his attention away from his work, and at Lylme. She was in her PJs, which looked almost identical to the daily outfit she wore. However, her hair was down now. She looked like a small angel._

_Except angels did not have demon dogs as guardians._

_"Lymle? How come you are not asleep? "_

_"Why are you playing with your computer, Faize?" she blinked, rubbing her eyes._

_"I'm not playing – I'm helping Edge with investigating the Cardianon. I'm browsing through some files. But you really ought to go to sleep now."_

_"If you are helping Edgie, why isn't he here?" Faize let a small smile spread on his lips,_

_"That is because he is tired and needs his sleep. I will retire for the night aswell as soon as I'm done."_

_"Kay. Till then, I'll stay here, kay?" without waiting for his reply, she sat on the arm of his chair, making the Eldarian boy quite surpised._

_"Lymle-" he began, but she fell asleep on his shoulder. He let out an embarassed sigh and, quickly saved the files. Surely, she can't be sleeping on his shoulder, or else tomorrow he could hear no end of it..._

_"You always reach your goal, don't you, Lymle?" he asked softly, but as he thought, no response came. Gently, he held the girl and walked back with her to their shared room. He gently put her on her own bed and covered her. As soon as he was done with this, he felt like he had been slapped with tiredness._

_"Argh, you win, I guess. " with that said, he also got into his bed, smiling secretly._

_Maybe she didn't hate him afterall..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

The night was silent, it was only the music of nocturnal creatures that played softly. It's peacefulness had managed to lull a restless Eldarian to slumber. Young Faize happened to be resting on the window, his head lain on it's edge. That was something someone did not tolerate.

Scarr walked up to Faize's bed, to see his feet hanging from the bed. Panting and growling, he tried to wake up his Eldarian friend. A response was an inaudible murmur, a slurr.

Growling harder now, the dog let up his forelegs on the bed, watching his back. The verdant haired boy turned his head, the side of his face now resting on his hands, his face decently concealed by his green bangs.

"Grrwww." Scarr gently bit onto the hem of Faize's shirt and began to pull towards himself. The gentle force was enough to make the young Eldarian blink, but not awaken. Another slurr was a response for the canine.

Another growl, and with more force, he was now standing on both paws, pulling Faize. His head suddenly dropped from his hands, jerking him awake.

"Wha-" Faize's eyes shot open, and his voice made Scarr let go of him, making him stumble backwards, and yell out in surprise and pain.

Trying to analyze the situation, Faize frantically looked around, only to notice the only canine in the house, panting at him, and in the moonlight's light, he seemed like he's _smiling_.

"What the hell was that for?" Faize cried out in a whisper to the dog, not wanting to wake his other friend, Sonia up. "Why was it so good to wake me up in a god-forsaken-early hour?"

The dog in response cocked his head sidways and wagged his tail.

Faize shook his head,

"Whatever. You are unable of any sort of communication nor unable to understand anything I say."

That made Scarr growl and stand up. Faize blinked, when the dog suddenly grabbed the handle of his rapier.

"Hey!" Faize snapped and stood up, ready to encircle his hands around the dog, to hault him. "Put down my rapier, right now!"

With another, playful growl, Scarr slid out of Faize's grasp and sped off from his room.

"Dang it!" Faize cursed and raced after the dog. How did the dog know that his rapier was dear to him.

"Huh...?" then Faize remembered. Several nights prior, he was caught off guard by Scarr, while training in secret in the backyard. The dog must have remembered, he was using that certain rapier he just stole.

Following the sound of dogpaws, he reached the backyard once again, and found Scarr in the middle of it, his rapier lying in front of him. The white german shepherd seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"What in the world am I doing, following a... dog?" he murmured angrily and trotted towards his favourite weapon of choice. As he was about to reach the handle of the slim sword, Scarr snatched it away from him, and sprang 3 meters away.

"Scarr!" Faize yelled in a now high pitched tone, "Give me back my rapier!"

"Bark!" the dog managed to bark, with the handle between his jaws. He lowered his torso, so that his head was in level with his paws. His tail was high and wagged it playfully.

"That does it!" he broke into a run and tried to snatch it away from his jaw, careful not to hurt himself with the edge of his blade, but the dog was always faster. Even though the urge was painfully throbbing, to use symbology on the dog, but if he had hurt the poor canine, Sonia would be unable to move around in the dark.

After an hour and more, Faize began to feel tired and slipped to the ground, panting almost like Scarr did. The dog in question was infront of Faize, holding the sword victoriously.

"Scarr...you..." Faize began, but remembered how Sonia was mocking him about not trusting animals, and believing all of them stupid. He sighed,

"Scarr. Please give me back my rapier. I don't want it to get damaged." he now set his pair of purple eyes on the canine. To his utter surprise, Scarr flapped his ears down, in a sorrowful manner, and walked up to him. As soon as he reached him, he put the rapier onto his lap and looked at him with huge eyes, while constantly whining.

_"I'm sorry."_ That was what Faize seemed to read from his bodylanguage, and eyes and... and the way he acted.

"Uhhh..." Faize let out dumbly as the dog almost broke his heart with the way he was staring at him with huge brown eyes. It kind of reminded him of Lymle. Ugh, that pain again in his chest..."it's nothing." Faize blurted out. "You wanted to play, right?"

Another whine. What else did that dog want?

As if reading his mind, Scarr put his head into Faize's chest, his ears tickling his face.

_"Comfort him in some way? But... This is so... stupid...?"_ sighing, he patted the dog's head,

"It's alright." he tried to sound convincing. "Just don't touch my rapier, alright? I thought you had your own toys." After saying this, Scarr drew back, and let out a bark and sped off.

As soon as Faize was out of his confusion, Scarr came back with a ball.

"What do you want me to do with that?" he blinked. Scarr let go of the ball, rolling towards him. Faize picked it up, and noticed the dog tensed, even his tail stopped wagging.

"If you want this why did you let go...?" he left the sentence unfinished, as he noticed, the dog was concentrating on the ball and as he talked and swayed the ball sideways, the dog followed the movement with his head.

"You want me to throw it?" Scarr let out a nervous bark. Shrugging, Faize threw the ball, the dog immediatley launching itself after it. He stood up and dusted himself off.

_What a stupid game he- WAAH_! He didn't notice the dog coming back, and tackling itself onto him, the ball in his jaws, clenching and making the rubber ball squeek. The dog now let go off the ball – sqeeaaak- and began licking the poor boy's face.

"Sca- Wha- Stop it! Hey!" but the dog ignored and happily barked, still licking his face. He franticly began patting the dog, hoping he will calm down. It was a lucky guess, he soon got off from him. His face now bathing in dog saliva, glared at the happy, tail wagging dog holding the –squeeeak- ball in his mouth.

"We should head in now for the rest of the night. I need to wash my face as we might get guests tomorrow."

"Squeeaaaaaak"

"And stop giving that ball a pressure!"

"Squeeeak."

Shaking his head, he grabbed his sword and went back in the house, right into the bathroom. Scarr took off to Sonia's room.

As he dipped his head in a clean handful of water, he wondered.

Dogs are truly reliable, understanding creatures. Maybe, just maybe, Lymle's Cerberus is like Scarr. Aside from the fact, that he is a demon dog.

Sighing, and wanting to rest now, he climbed onto his bed, and closed his eyes.

Squeeeeaaaaaaaak.

Bothering to open one eye, he saw the sleeping dog right next to his bed. With a small smile, he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note: This is the final chapter. I think the prologue has gone quite long to be a prologue, right? But I wanted to fill that space. And the currency, "Nuyen" is used in the books of Shadowrun. I own one Shadowrun novel, „Never Trust an Elf" and I love it. I do not own the name, "Nuyen" or anything that is not Sonia or Alex Mesker, Alex Wesker. All the others are owned by someone (Yes, Ben Jäger strongly resembles Alarm Für Cobra's Ben! Hehe!).**_

_**To anyone out there who read this story, I thank you for staying till the end. The other story: A Drop Of Love In The Star Ocean (ADOLITSO) will focus only mainly on Faize and Lymle.**_

_**Off we go!**_

**Chapter 8.**

Several days had passed since Faize bonded (more like, befriended) Scarr. At first, Sonia was quite surprised to find her canine sleeping next to her extraterrestrial companion, but she did not complain. More like, she was happy he finally got some sense knocked inside his head. As time had passed, Faize learned almost everything about leading an inn. Better late then never, the inn finally opened, and on the 1st of August, the first guests arrived. Faize handled them brilliantly and more and more people came to seek shelter. People came and gone, and soon he turned out to be a great innkeeper much to Sonia's surprise. However, at the end of November, they received guests whom changed their life, forever. One was a couple, who wanted to spend several days in the mountains before getting married, the other guest was...

"I don't like the look of that person." Faize grumbled to Sonia, who was busy drawing doodles on the guestbook's page. The young Eldarian stood next to her in tribal clothes once again, and tapped his hand impatiently on the desk to grasp his friend's attention.

"Eh?" Sonia glanced up to take a look at the so-called suspicious person in question who was making his way to the entrance. The couple who had earlier registered and took their room was sleeping soundly yet it was 11 o'clock in the morning so they were alone in the hall. "I think you're just paranoid. The fact that he has a beard doesn't mean he is a bad guy." she returned her attention to her retarded drawing of stick-men and random fireballs.

The soon-to-be guest took another step towards the inn, "Not just his beard. It's his whole being, his aura. I just cannot put a finger on it, but I am quite sure that person could only bring trouble to us. " He waited for a response, though she was still busy drawing her fantasy stick-figures.

"You know the fact that they don't throw fireballs at you doesn't mean they are harmless." Faize grumbled giving her drawing a venomous look.

Another step was taken by the man, "Well then, " she completely ignored Faize's sarcasm towards her doodles, " that doesn't really matter. I don't care about him, he gives us money for taking him in for shelter. We're not here to save the world, Faize." Sonia put her pen down, and kept her gaze on the entrance now. "And I am well aware of the fact that you cannot judge a person by how he looks."

The man reached for the doorknob, "Just don't let your guard down." Faize finished and the door opened with a jingling sound, revealing the Man with the Beard.

The moment he was inside, Scarr jumped up and began to growl.

Faize couldn't help, but let a small smile graze his lips. Atleast, his canine friend shared his opinion.

The man was wearing a buttoned-shirt with black denim jeans. Nothing out of the ordinary, but Faize still knew something was not alright with that man.

"Excuse me." the man began, with a sickish, low voice, "May I ask you to keep this dog out? I am allergic to dog fur, you see. And if I can do so, I wish to book a room for the night."

Sonia grabbed her pen again, "I can make the dog be outside for the _day_, but I need him for the ni-"

"That is alright, Sonia." Faize interrupted, and this made Sonia blink. Faize never interrupted her when talking to a guest. "If this brings discomfort to our guest then we must do all our best to make him feel more comfortable, isn't that right? I will fulfill the duty that the dog must do then. A night cannot be problem." He didn't trust this person and he also did not want to let him know the fact that she is blind in the night. Ben's warning echoed in his mind regarding guests who robbed her before.

"Well, I uh... Alright." Sonia nodded to him, and Faize grabbed Scarr gently by his collar and lead him out (though the german shepherd protested, he did not bite his humanoid friend). "Please tell me your name." The bearded man grinned and leaned in a bit,

"My name is Alex." Sonia's hand did not shiver, but her soul did.

"Alex _what_?" Faize was on his way back and he now heard their small conversation,

"Alex Mesker." bit hesitantly, she wrote down his name, and as she did so, the man took the time and leaned in closer. "My, aren't you too beautiful to be stuck behind a counter?"

"?" Sonia slowly glanced up only to find his face closer than her taste.

"May I ask what are you intending to do with my sister's face in such a short distance?" Faize's sentence was like a whip, that slashed the so-called Alex in the back and he immediatley straightened up to regain his posture. Sonia glanced at him thankfully then returned her attention to the guestbook.

"I was just inspecting! Such a beauty your sister, is!" the man stammered, but that didn't make Faize's mood go merrier. If he would have the option, he'd let Scarr bite the man's face.

_Now I understand why Lymle always summons Cerberus when she's angry..._

Now he was sure the man was not intending to just sleep. He knew of Sonia's past and that made Faize angrier. His eyes began to go red but he quickly hid them behind his green bangs of hair. He couldn't control his eye- changes, but Sonia taught him to hide his eyes when he was getting furious. He didn't feel his color change, but his change of mood.

"Your room is upstairs, room number 3." she gave him the key without looking up, still writing, "I won't give you lunch, but only breakfast, which is always at 8 o'clock. That'll be 100 Nuyen for one night."

The man carefully put the Nuyens down and with a sly look cast at Faize, he almost like sped towards his room. The young Eldarian smiled as he followed his trail with his eyes. "Have nice stay."

"Faize." Sonia called behind him. He tilted his head sideways and listened,

"Why didn't you let me tell him I need Scarr for the night?"

"You still trust him?" He asked disbelievingly, making himself turn around fully to face her.

"Who said I trust him?" She blinked back, "I was just asking."

"I know that you were robbed before." he admitted, "I don't want that to happen. Don't worry, I'll escort you around without a word, you know that."

"Geez, Faize, don't get so sentimental." Sonia waved her hand lazily. "With that Earth Lace or what, you'll own his ass anyway."

"That's Earth _Glaive_ and I do not want to reveal my powers to him, but my swordmanship." he sighed. Sonia walked off to arrange something for the inn. Taking the chance, Faize wandered to the lonely phone and dialed a number. After several ringing, a voice of hope sounded in his ears,

"_Yes, Ben Jäger speaking_."

"Good day to you, Ben. I'm Faize. Sonia's... cousin." He was used to say 'brother' to guests.

"_Oh, Faize! Yes, I remember you. What is the matter?_"

The green-haired boy glanced around, "It is a matter concerning Sonia's safety."

"_What?_" he sounded paniced, "_What happened to her?_"

"Nothing, yet." he replied, still cautious, "Just a suspicious guest has come in and she's stubborn to admit it. He even used his deceased fiancé's identity with a slight alternation. I highly suppose his intentions are not so honest."

"_Such a heartless monster. What do you want me to do? Did he do anything that might break the law?_" he sounded desperate. Ben was a policeman afterall.

"I was thinking about you guarding at night? I'll be also up, but if things might go chaotic..."

"_How long will he stay?_"

"Just a night."

"_No, Faize, not just a night._"

"Excuse me?" he blinked."

"_He __**won't**__ be staying there, we'll make sure that bastard won't stay._" Faize smiled at Ben's viciousness.

"Have it your way, Ben. I thank you for your help. Does it trouble you at all?"

"_Trouble me? What troubles me is that man, and am glad you called! I'll prepare myself. Thanks for calling, Faize! I must go now. Bye!_"

"Good bye." he put the phone down and sighed again. This was going to be tough, and he hoped his instincts were ringing a false alarm.

"Faize!" Sonia screamed from afar, "The chickens are on loose!"

"Coming!" he screamed back, in such a manly- tone she got used to and always made her chuckle.

Night was only an hour away and Sonia noticed Faize acting more tense than ever. However, she couldn't conetrate long on him, as this Alex was always on her heels. Even in her own office which was more than just private.

"And tell me, Miss, how long have you been owning this inn?" he asked as she was arranging papers, that concerned the bank.

"How long have you been pondering on this question, to get me to talk to you?" she asked without looking away from her work. This kind of caught him off guard,

"Why so offensive?"

"Maybe I have my reasons?" she shot back.

"Won't you give me a chance at least?"

"A chance for _what_?"

"To get to know you?"

"You have more chance to receive a slap than to get to know me better."

Alex grinned but that was invisible to Sonia as she still was gazing at the papers intently.

"You know, your answers are revealing your soul better."

"Are they?" she inquired but she didn't really care. Those papers were far more interesting than this man who payed only 100 Nuyen.

Suddenly, her sight began to fade and panic crawled up on her spine. Damn! If this Alex hadn't talked to her, she'd searched for Faize, but now, she had to wait for him to arrive and lead her away. More stupid questions were to be asked, as she thought.

Oh how wrong she was...

"You're as fragile as glass." she didn't even flinch,

"That means that I also cut if touched."

"I never denied that..." he leaned in a bit and noticed she didn't flinch. He smiled again, "I think you are pretty defensless..."

Something was bothering Faize. All day long, the male part of the couple pestered him with random questions,

"... And where do you live, Mr. Faize?" The young Eldarian was busy feeding Jack Daniels, Soni's horse, but that man was still attached to him!

"Well, as you can see, I live with my sister right now." he now made sure the water was clear.

"Why? Don't you have a girlfriend, or something? Being in love is wonderful!" he chirped, making Faize swallow.

"I-uh... used to have...?" he sounded more like questioning himself.

"Used to?"

"That is a past tense. It means-"

"I know what it means." the man smiled, "I just asked why?"

"I do not wish share it with people. I am sorry to cause such a discomfort, but I do not open up to people very quickly." he finished and glanced at the sky. It was getting dark, he should fetch Sonia now. He cleaned his hands, and walked towards the inn, the man still following him like a shadow.

He was about to turn in to Sonia's office when the man suddenly jumped infront of him, startling the extraterrestial being.

"Excuse me...?"

Suddenly, his legs gave in and he felt a dumb pain in his head. For moments his vision was gone, but his ears were sharper than ever.

"That was easier than I thought." the woman's voice was heard. Faize didn't move an inch, he still kept his act as unconscious. "You did a good job, Frank."

"Everything is all up to Vergil now. As he said, I made the boy sure he's out cold. But he needs to handle the blind woman."

_So they knew...?_

Faize's anger began to build up in his body. He opened his left eye to check if they are showing their backs to him. He still has enough strenght to do symbolgy or to simply make them faint. To his unluck, the toes of their shoes still faced him, signaling they are still watching him.

"I checked the rooms that weren't closed. She has nothing that could be sold! And not to mention the boy's room. He has nothing aside from clothes and a weird looking blade."

"We might sell that one."

"Fuck no!" the girl yelled, "I've never seen a blade like this! It would stick out like a sore thumb, we would easily get our cover blown!"

"Would you two quiet down? I know you two have to act like a married couple, but this is too much."

Faize now saw two pair of shoes, and to his horror, he saw Sonia's aswell. She was squirming in the man's arms. His anger turned into fury and it took all of his self- control not to shiver or growl. Memories of Nox Obscurus flashed in his mind when he was posessed.

"You bastard!" Sonia squirmed out, "This is an unfair fight! What did you do to my brother?"

"He went to sleep." The woman replied in a sick tone, adding a singy-song tone which made Sonia shiver. "You know, he was quite reluctant to cooperate, so we had no choice but to neutralize him."

Faize managed to glance at the shoes again. All of them were turned towards the newly come people. They were all now concentrating on Sonia and Vergil. This was his time to fight!

"Such a cowardly act I do not tolerate." Faize said in a husky whisper, that seemed to freeze the atmosphere around them. He stood up gracefully and quickly, making all of them look at him, in disbelief.

"What the fuck..? I just hit you with the handle of my gun how did you...?" the woman's eyes widened as she looked at Faize.

"Shit..." Frank whispered and was as pale as the wall behind him.

The sight of Faize was horrible. His eyes were bathing in crimson, and a trickle of blood trailed down from his forehead towards his chin branching towards his chest aswell, tainting his porcelean skin. He looked like a furious madman.

"Let my sister go." he demanded in an icy tone. The one who was called Vergil smiled devilshly,

"You know, I could've let go of your sister. But since you saw our faces..." he grabbed a gun from the backpocket of his jeans and put it to Sonia's side, making her hitch a breath, "I just can't seem to let both of you live."

His fury was taking over. His aura seemed to darken as he spoke, his tone even changed,

"Such a spineless bastard you are, mister. If you wish to have an unfair fight, then I think it is legal for me to do so aswell." he unconsciously began to draw difficult chains of symbols with his fingers, his intense gaze kept on Vergil. The woman infront of him laughed,

"Yeah, and how, boy?" she pointed her gun towards him, and so did her husband, Frank,

"One move and you'll be headless." Frank said with a vicious smile. If Faize could, he'd growl viciously, but all he could do is glare deadly at them.

His symbols finished, and slowly, ice needles materialized beside him, making all of them shaken,

"What... the... fuck?" they all yelled in unision.

"This is a MONSTER!" Frank screamed and the pistol was visibly shaking in his hand. His wife wasn't in better condition either.

"Let her go. Or I will release these needles that will penetrate your most vital organs." Faize growled.

"Faize..." Sonia whimpered, as Vergil pushed the gun more into her side,

"Stop it, kid. If you release only one of these shit, she'll be dead." he tried to keep his voice calm, but he failed miserably.

"_Let her go already_." he was getting impatient, and his fury grew even stronger, so strong, the needles began to tremble.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Vergil screamed, and in his fear, he accidently (or maybe not) pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down, as the harsh sound of the pistol screamed in Faize's ears. His eyes grew wide as he watched his Earthling friend stumble towards the ground, her hand at her side, blood flowing rivers down her body, towards the ground.

_In this universe..._

Two more gunshots were heard, but he ignored them, as he made a dash towards Sonia, next to him, the needles copying his movements, penetrating the couple in the shoulder...

_There will always be those..._

The final needle planted itself also to Vergil's shoulder. But at the same time, the entrance door opened, and Ben came in, with his pistol drawn, and screaming something, but to Faize, it was inaudible.

_You cannot save_.

The Eldarian boy caught the falling Earthing before she crashed into the cold floor of her inn. At the same time, several paws hit the ground and then made a jump attack at the man, who shot his master. While the dog was biting his flesh, Ben hurriedly unarmed the other couple.

Still feeling slow motion, he lowered her, and checked her wound, but he didn't really understand. He was never good at healing, never knew any healing symbols. He was a dummy when it came to healing.

It was always Lymle who healed his wounds...

The imaginary bubble around him suddenly popped, and he heard everything.

"Faize! Faize! What are these big ice pillars? Did YOU do these? Soni...? SONI?" Ben immediatley began to dial on his cell phone and Faize heard he was calling the ambulance. The green haired boy stared at his wounded friend. Blood trickled from her mouth, and her eyes seemed lifeless due to her blindness.

"Faize... you owned their asses, huh...?" she managed to let out. He couldn't smile even though he was more than glad she was alive. At least, he didn't lose another friend...

"Don't talk. The muscles in your tummy are giving pressure to the wound and that will-"

"I give a..." she coughed up and Faize leaned a bit back, so she didn't headbang him,

"Shhh. Ben already called the ambulance." he tried to comfort her and forced her back to lay.

"I'm wolfblind you stupid, not deaf!" she grumbled then groaned in pain. Ben ran back to them,

"I called reinforcements and the ambulance. " He looked at her desperatley, and Faize immediatley remembered when he was lying in Nox Obscurus and Lymle's look on her face when he was "dying". It was the same.

Ben loved Sonia. The look in his eyes seemed to pour out the emotions he felt towards her. That means, Lymle loved him? But that was impossible...

He quickly discarded his feelings and worried about his silver haired friend.

"I think you should hold her." he then said and handed Sonia to Ben, who gladly and with utmost care took her from him.

"Faize, what are you-"

"Shut up." Faize replied and smiled at Sonia's surprise at his change of character. "I'm doing what's best for you. Ben can take care of you better than I can. "

"Faize, you're bleeding too." Ben observed as he held Sonia, "You should get checked aswell."

"No major damage taken." he replied as he touched his face and checked the bood on his fingers,

"Just a slight bump will be on my head for several days. Thanks for your concern, but Sonia needs more help than I do."

"I cannot argue with that." Ben nodded and held her closer.

"I'll make your clothes bloody." she muttered to him.

"I don't care." he replied. "Just shut up."

Faize looked at the criminals with a devilish stare. With a lazy hand movement, he made the ice needles disappear, making all of them go wide-eyed.

"Faize... What...?"

"I will only tell you later, when these tainted souls are not residing here." Faize spoke venomously. "All they need to know is that only pure luck that they are still alive."

Soon, both the reinforcements and the ambulance arrived. Sonia was taken to hospital, Faize began to restore the inn and took care of the household. Of course, the inn closed down till she returned.

A week had passed since the incident. Every day he visited her and always found Ben beside her, never leaving her side. He even spent all nights with her, talking to her, pouring courage and hope into her heart whenever she went blind, holding her hand.

Luckily, the bullet did not hit vital organs, and it was only discomfort the wound gave her. Faize was relieved to hear that, but he also began to think about his friends.

His actions were selfish, when he left Edge and the others. He ran away, wanting to be forgotten and he did not think of the pain the others felt. The pain _he_ inclined on them.

Especially on Lymle. She was crying for him, yet he left him, giving up.

He shouldn't have given up.

Ben never gave up and was always beside Sonia. He always helped her from the background, like an invisible guardian. Even though she rejected him, he'd always be there and as a result, they were growing together, warming up to each other.

The day he made up his mind, he went down to the basement and got on his Eldarian suit. Luckily it still fitted him perfectly. Hethen turned his attention to the "ugly" black cloak he received on Roak.

_I should let go of her. But what a waste would be just to dump it..._

He grabbed the cloak, walked out of the inn, closed it, and departed towards the hospital.

He did recieve weird stares due to his Eldarian suit, but he now didn't really care.

At Sonia's bed, he once again found Ben too. He closed the door as he came in.

"Faize." Sonia began, "I'm sorry but I... I gave out your secret to Ben." Faize noticed they were holding hands. She looked sorrowful, "I did not want to but-"

"It's alright." Faize smiled, "I was planning to tell him today, but you gradually lessened my time to stay here. I want to tell something to the both of you." The watched him intently,

"I'm leaving this planet today." Ben seemed shocked, but Sonia smiled,

"I knew you'd say it some day. I'm kinda proud of ya."

"Why?" Ben asked, "Don't you feel good here?"

"Sonia, Ben, I must thank you. You taught me to open my eyes about what I did in the past." he sat down, holding the cloak close, "I ignored my friends' need and left them, hurting them all, selfishly wanting to hide like a criminal." he glanced at them and then continued,

"I'll be going back to Lymle's place. I feel responsible and the tears she shed for me are maybe not the only ones she shed. What if she still feels down? If she's lonely?" he glanced at the blanket, "I now have that power to overcome my mistakes. I have grown stronger. That is why... Sonia, have this cloak." He stretched out the cloak and handed it to her, who reached for it,

"Wow, Faize. You never were this sentimental ever! I must say, it doesn't suit you." she held the cloak and smiled at it, "Pretty! I bet it looked horrible on you. It won't on me!" Ben facepalmed himself.

"Lymle said the same." he nodded and stood up. "I... I don't know what to say..." he murmured and looked away again.

"But I know." Sonia looked up at him,

"Be happy, Faize. I might be long dead in your time, but know it – I'm always with ya. Even if I have such a boyfriend as Ben."

"I love you too, you know." he raised a brow at her, and chuckled, "You know, I feel quite special for meeting an alien like you." The green haired boy nodded at him,

"And I'm not the only one. A lot of extraterrestrials look like humans, with a slight change."

"Off you go now!" Sonia suddenly let out "I cannot give you a good bye present, but I think, the memories we share together are enough, right?"

Faize gave an honest smile to her, "More than enough. Thanks to you, my friends, I found my way to walk my path on."

He grabbed the doorknob and glanced back, etching their faces into his memory.

"Farewell..."

As he opened the door, light engulfed the small room. A teardrop has escaped from the prison of Sonia's eye, and it shone on her face. Ben was wearing a proud smile on his face and held her hand tighter.

As soon as the door closed, silence settled between them.

They didn't know, that he also shed a tear for them, for their memories.

They were the tears Friendship.

They didn't even know, that after an hour, he was no longer in this dimension.

His heart's desire was waiting for him.

A small breeze passed by as he made his way to the village. People were staring at him, as he ventured deeper. He now no longer cared about the stares, he directly went to Lutea's house.

"Is anybody here?" he asked, as he was inside the small, comfortable house. Footsteps were heard and soon a familiar figure appeared before him.

"What can I..." Lutea was speechless as she looked at him. "You... You were with Lymle when..."

"Yes." He nodded. "I came back to her. "

A mischevious smile was on her face as she replied, "She changed, you know? Her curse was broken, thanks to a man called Faize." Faize felt like he was slapped. He began to stutter,

"M-Me? How did I break the curse?"

Lutea raised her hands as a "I don't know!" manner, "Well, they say true love breaks any curse!"

"Don't kid me, miss Lutea." Faize murmured, though blushed as he did so and that was not unnoticed by Lutea. "Where can I find her?"

"She went back to her old village, Woodley. She's visiting her grandfather's grave."

As Faize thanked and walked out, he heard her say, "If I were you, I'd bring her flowers!" she said in a sing-song tone, making Faize flinch and act like he ignored her.

As he walked towards the old village, he noticed a small, fragile flower. A daisy. He kneeled down and picked it up, remembering Lymle gave the same to her grandfather. This will be good enough, won't it? He smiled, as he thought about what Lymle's reaction would be.

As he walked further he now saw her, her back towards him and he almost didn't recognize her. She was taller than he remembered and her clothes were changed aswell. Gathering up all his courage, he began his walk towards her.

"So... I'm really not lonely at all... kay?" he heard her say. Her tone had matured aswell, but not her constant "kays". He saw her wiping away her tears, and her whole aura was sorrowful. His heart clenched at the sight, and he felt like his stomach has a knot. His heart beat at an insane speed, and he could only hope Lymle didn't hear it.

He stopped at an arm's-lenght away from her.

It is now, or never.

Bit hesitantly, he streched out his hand which held the flower, and gently put it in in her pigtail.

Not really knowing what to do, he let his hand to reach out for her.

She sorrowfully looked down, and began to turn towards his way.

As soon as she noticed his hand, she cautiously looked up at him, and – to his surprise- she seemed surprised.

_So she can now show emotion...? All thanks to... me?_

Moments later, her surprised expression turned into a smile.

With a slow movement, she also reached up, but with both hands, and Faize also reached for her other hand. Hand in hand, they stood, staring at each other, both of them smiling, and not saying a word. It was their reunion, and should not be ruined with sensless words.

Because no words could describe the emotions they both felt.

They both missed each other.

They both had questions for each other.

But more importantly – they now had each other. Just she and him.

Together.


End file.
